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Juan Pablo Montoya feels like a rookie on eve of IndyCar return

Juan Pablo Montoya is hoping for a successful IndyCar return after struggling in NASCAR. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Through a half dozen test sessions and a month before the season opens, Juan Pablo Montoya isn’t looking at the depth of the field.

“Right now, I’m my biggest rival. I feel like a complete rookie right now,” the 1999 CART champion and 2000 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winner said. “Because I feel like I got to do a job, push myself. It’s good to have a guy like Will [Power] on the team that’s really quick and gets the job done. Helio [Castroneves] has a lot of experience. If I have my experience plus what they do, I think it’s pretty good.”

Montoya expects to win, and soon, but he doesn’t expect the transition from stock cars to the IndyCar Series will be as smooth as his initial foray at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He led 167 of the 200 laps on the 2.5-mile oval in winning by 7.184 seconds over Buddy Lazier.

“The NASCAR one was one that it was like, ‘Where the hell am I?’ The cars were very different,” he said. “There was a lot of movement. This is the opposite because in NASCAR the limit of the car is very easy. You can get to the limit of the car very easy. The big thing is you’re driving it too hard. In IndyCar, you can’t drive it hard enough, or at least I can’t yet. I’m leaving a lot on the table. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Team Penske announced that Hawk Performance will be the primary sponsor on the No. 2 car driven by Montoya for three races.